Potential MG ZS EV Buyer - Some Questions!

[Deleted member 823]

Hi All,

I took a test drive in the MG ZS EV recently and was impressed. That said, it was the first EV I've driven so at the time didn't have anything to compare it to, but overall I came away feeling positive about the car. I have a couple of questions, which I'm sure you've heard before, so apologies for this:

1. Real world range - what can I expect on the motorway in both summer and winter months travelling at a steady 70mph?
2. Is there a way to set the vehicle to charge at home during the early hours? I don't think there is, so is there a device that can be used to achieve this?

Many thanks,

ARH

 

[Paulie68]

Hi All,

I took a test drive in the MG ZS EV recently and was impressed. That said, it was the first EV I've driven so at the time didn't have anything to compare it to, but overall I came away feeling positive about the car. I have a couple of questions, which I'm sure you've heard before, so apologies for this:

1. Real world range - what can I expect on the motorway in both summer and winter months travelling at a steady 70mph?
2. Is there a way to set the vehicle to charge at home during the early hours? I don't think there is, so is there a device that can be used to achieve this?

Many thanks,

ARH

At a constant 70 on a motorway, I think you'll be looking at 110 safe range in dry summer weather. Cold, mid winter with wet roads using the air con to keep everything demisted, probably 90 miles.

Drop to 60 and you'll see a massive increase, personally I can get about 150 miles at a steady 60. Plan for about 130 to allow for getting to chargers without stress if you're journey is longer.

If you have a dumb 7kWh charger, it can be upgraded to be able to set timed charging by fitting a suitable wifi relay in the control line of the charger. The smart chargers already have this option. You are right that the car itself can not set timed charging.

The car itself is great and will seem nicer than most petrol or diesel cars, and performance will be better than all of them except very large engined models, up to the legal limit.

Quality is good overall. The infotainment is annoyingly laggy and a bit glitchy, you'll particularly notice if you come from something with the latest kit, from an older car, not so much.

 

[Kithmo]

If you don't have timed charging and are not on an economy night time electricity tariff, you can just plug the car in before you go to bed, it stops charging when it's full anyway.

 

[teepee]

On a run to the south coast for a week and back again - a mix of motorway, A roads and some town driving I was getting 4 miles per kw. (Up to 5 miles per kw on nice A roads at 40 mph ish)

With a usable 42kw this equated to 42 x 4 = 168 miles per tank

 

[Deleted member 823]

Hi All, thanks for the informative replies I will certainly have to change my motorway driving behaviour, 60mph will be a struggle to maintain(!) but I get the reasons behind it.

Paulie68 - I'm new to all this and know next to nothing about chargers. Is this the type of charger that MG supply as part of their offer? Thanks.

Many thanks to everyone for taking the time to respond

 

[KasEV]

@ARealHuman
Car in general is OK.
Range is for me a big issue.
If you start a journey with 100% charge in eco mode + regen2 on motorway / regen3 in town with judicious use of in car comforts eg AC + efficient 1 pedal driving then your true life functional range may be as follows....
For motorway driving at 65 to 70mph safe drive functional range is no more than 100 to 110 depending on the ambient temperature and motorway service station charge point availability. Sometimes your functional range may even have to reduce to 90 miles to avoid being snookered with no charging point.
Also give yourself I hour for recharging and not 40 mins. Aim to run the vehicle on motorway between 10% to 90% charge.
If you want to run 10% to 100% charge then increase your recharge time to 1hr 20mins.
Always plan your journey carefully and include end destination charging.
Make an appropriate time allowance for your end destination recharge.
The above advice is based on using Rapid chargers for your recharge and UK average service station availability of 30miles.
Please note this simple way to estimate your functional safe drive range for most EV's when you use the motorway. It is about 68% to 70% maximum of what your GOM is showing at the every start of your journey and then 70% after every recharge.
So say your GOM shows 160miles at 100% charge at the start of your journey then your functional safe drive range will be about 110.
This does not mean your GOM will be at zero after the 110 miles. What it means is that by the time you have driven 110 miles, if you have not charged your car or you are not within 2 to 5 miles of a charging station, you are unlikely to make it to the next available charging point and you will get snookered.
On any particular day, your GOM may actually be showing 20 miles when you have driven 110miles but then you will not be able to use these 20 miles because next service station is 3miles away then none for 30miles. So you stop and recharge in 3miles etc.
Slightly long-winded but I hope you get the trend. Knowing the 70% rule allows you to plan safely but then make the appropriate adjustments on the journey.

OK timed charging / delayed charging been dealt with extensively on the forum already. Read the threads on this issue.

 

[Exdro]

I have an Eon Mini Pro charging unit. I have an app which turns it on at set times so you can choose the time of your cheapest tariff to charge the car. It needed an upgrade to the unit and for the comfort 2 upgrade to the car for them to speak to one another. There is no timer facility within the car itself.

 

[Skippy]

Hi

I’ve only driven a few, but the ZS compares well with the ENiro and Leaf to drive. Build seems good and they haven’t cut corners anywhere too important apart from aircon and vinyl seats, maybe.

I got mine yesterday so can’t comment on range, though it looks like the instrument panel is pretty honest with you.

MG is currently doing a deal including a Rolec charger installed. This should be the smart one with an app for timer charging. There are various updates on the car to make sure that it will ‘wake up’ and charge in the night.

All new charger installs have to be smart, but that may not mean you get an app and timer charging - my understanding.

 

[Paulie68]

Hi

I’ve only driven a few, but the ZS compares well with the ENiro and Leaf to drive. Build seems good and they haven’t cut corners anywhere too important apart from aircon and vinyl seats, maybe.

The Vinyl seats aren't a cost cutting exercise, it's a recognition of the market demographic, Tesla use vinyl as well. A lot of EV buyers are more aware of the cruelty involved in the animal farming industry and don't want leather.

 

[Lambo51]

Thanks Kas for the great advice. I Will save this post as I’m about to embark on a couple of odyssey’s to the south coast

 

[Dave S]

Vinyl seats!! I even saw them referred to in one article as "vegan leather" Crivens!!

I'm not a lover of leather seats generally, so when I went for the Exclusive, I wasn't too excited about the covering. But actually, I'm quite liking them.

And, whilst I'm on the bucking the trend flow - I also like the auto-dimming headlights.

 

[Deleted member 823]

Thanks all for the further details on charging and range. Although I can work out what it does, I don't know what it means - GOM?

Thanks again

 

[Exdro]

Thanks all for the further details on charging and range. Although I can work out what it does, I don't know what it means - GOM?

Thanks again

GOM stands fir Guess O Meter. I.e. Predicting how many miles are left. This is based on your recent driving styles and routes. The figure can go up as well as down.

 

[Kithmo]

@Dave S, I assume you mean Auto dipping headlights (Auto High Beam) not dimming, these halogens are dim enough as it is

 

[Deleted member 823]

GOM stands fir Guess O Meter. I.e. Predicting how many miles are left. This is based on your recent driving styles and routes. The figure can go up as well as down.

Well I would've never gussed that! Thanks.

 

[Skippy]

The Vinyl seats aren't a cost cutting exercise, it's a recognition of the market demographic, Tesla use vinyl as well. A lot of EV buyers are more aware of the cruelty involved in the animal farming industry and don't want leather.

Fair enough. maybe if they were perforated/vented that would be good. Went for a drive today to learn the driver aids and didn’t get clammy though.

 

[Phil752]

Hi All,

I took a test drive in the MG ZS EV recently and was impressed. That said, it was the first EV I've driven so at the time didn't have anything to compare it to, but overall I came away feeling positive about the car. I have a couple of questions, which I'm sure you've heard before, so apologies for this:

1. Real world range - what can I expect on the motorway in both summer and winter months travelling at a steady 70mph?
2. Is there a way to set the vehicle to charge at home during the early hours? I don't think there is, so is there a device that can be used to achieve this?

Many thanks,

ARH

wait for the M5

 

[Deleted member 823]

wait for the M5

The thought had crossed my mind, but the current MG ZS EV offers run out in a few weeks time with no word on what offers, if any, will come with the MG5 or when it might be available. I've registered my details for more info, but nothing yet....

 

[Paulie68]

The thought had crossed my mind, but the current MG ZS EV offers run out in a few weeks time with no word on what offers, if any, will come with the MG5 or when it might be available. I've registered my details for more info, but nothing yet....

Don't worry about current offers, there's always another around the corner, or a dealer with a great pre reg. deal or two kicking around. Just decide on the car you want and look around a bit.

If you like red, this current pre registered deal is a cracker, nice dealer too...

New and Used Car Dealer | Cambridge | Buckingham and Stanley

Visit Buckingham & Stanley Cambridgeshire, established dealership and servicing specialist. Explore the website and browse through our full range of offers.

www.buckinghamstanley.co.uk

 

[Frank]

The thought had crossed my mind, but the current MG ZS EV offers run out in a few weeks time with no word on what offers, if any, will come with the MG5 or when it might be available. I've registered my details for more info, but nothing yet....

Hi ARealHuman,

I thought you were overseas at first then it clicked, you must be a gamer!!!

I know this is not the Forum for it, but I have nearly finished Doom Eternal, all the best.

Regards

Frank